The Girl in the Green Dress

Tom is a retired spy who thought he had left the cold war behind long ago. Every few years, the State Department tried demanding answers about four defectors he brought home in the late 70’s. He always put the State Department off, knowing if they found them, the Soviets would be right behind. The Soviets liked to run defectors down, or help them commit suicide; Tom just wanted to keep them alive.

This time the State Department had found a way to keep him from saying no, only someone else didn’t want him talking. When the bullets started flying, he knew his past mistake could still get him killed. What was it about these four, that was still bothering someone? Was their information so valuable? Why after all this time was it worth killing for? Who didn’t want Tom to talk? He had hidden the defectors so well no one from either government had ever found them. 

Tom’s job had been to go find out what a satellite had spotted, learn all he could about whatever it was and get home with the information. Back in those days, the satellites couldn’t see through buildings; maybe they still can’t. His boss called him a “high priced burglar”.  In reality he was just a kid who liked to hike, sail, and was very good at picking locks. He had the juvenile record to prove it.

Sailing in from a submarine, then hiking across Siberia was dangerous enough without breaking into military and government facilities to steal information. Then of course, there was the hike back and sailing out to find the submarine again. Most of the other boys didn’t make it back.  Did they drown, die in the woods, get eaten by a bear, or get caught and shot, there was no way to know. It was a lonely job, but Tom was ideal for it; his background and faith made him the perfect spy. The real measure of success for most, was just getting home. Tom always came home with the information.

Soon after he had left the agency, he started getting calls and visits about the defectors. It had been a simple mistake of bringing home 4 defectors back in the 1970’s, but he had no real choice. Then, he then hid them so well, the Soviets were never able to find or kill the them. 

Tom also met a Siberian girl and his whole world changed. His life became complicated; he was breaking the rules and could easily wind up unemployed. To have a Russian girlfriend was bad, to have a Russian lover worse. If the Soviets found out, she could be killed along with her family. If the Americans found out, Tom would lose his clearances, be fired, and maybe even be jailed in the darkest corner basement cell of some Federal prison.